Walsall 5 Hartlepool 2

Substitute Emmanuel Ledesma led Walsall to a stunning comeback win over Hartlepool.

Manager Dean Smith celebrated his 40th birthday in style as the Saddlers recovered from 2-0 down to keep their survival hopes alive.

Will Grigg, Darren Byfield, Julian Gray, Manny Smith and Ledesma capped an extraordinary turnaround for the hosts, after they were dead and buried.

The Saddlers were deservedly 2-0 behind after Colin Larkin's double, before the introduction of Ledesma just before the hour swung the game in their favour.

The win was crucial as drop rivals Dagenham, Yeovil and Bristol Rovers all won.

Byfield made his first start in six months after a long-term knee injury, replacing Richard Taundry, while Smith returned for Oliver Lancashire after last weekend's draw at Yeovil.

The Saddlers failed to settle as Hartlepool took control and should have gone ahead after 10 minutes, when Sam Collins planted a free header over from Evan Horwood's deep cross.

Gary Liddle and Larkin also headed off target as the visitors dominated, before Jon Macken limped off after 16 minutes and was replaced by Grigg.

But Walsall failed to heed the warnings and fell behind on 21 minutes when Liddle's run sent him clear on the right to crossed for Larkin to tap in.

The hosts were incensed Liddle wasn't flagged offside, but the midfielder looked to have timed his burst to perfection.

The sluggish Saddlers needed a wake-up call but failed to hit back with any urgency as they plodded along, relying too much on the long ball.

Not once did they test Scott Flinders in the Hartlepool goal in a first-half which lacked invention and initiative.

And they paid for their sloppiness seven minutes after the break as Larkin doubled his tally, prodding in when Armann Bjornsson flicked on Horwood's free kick.

Larkin hadn't scored in 53 games – since a strike in Hartlepool's 3-0 win over Walsall in September 2009.

But, on 59 minutes, they hauled themselves back into the contest when Grigg spun on Marc-Antoine Gbarssin's mis-hit shot and rifled into the bottom corner from 18 yards.

It reinvigorated the Saddlers and, two minutes later, Flinders tipped Ledesma's 20-yard drive onto the post.

The hosts kept pushing and were rewarded when Byfield crashed in a diving header after Ledesma's teasing cross on 64 minutes.

Suddenly Hartlepool crumbled and Flinders saved from Ledesma, before the Saddlers were in dreamland on 77 minutes.

Grigg's perseverance saw him wriggle free on the edge of the area and, when Flinders parried his effort, Gray kept his cool to tap in.

Six minutes later it got even better, when Smith nodded in Matt Richards' cross.

Ledesma then capped a fantastic recovery, bending in a low free kick in the last minute of stoppage time.